This weekend the girls and I stayed at the Element Hotel in Lexington MA; this hotel was amazing! From the beautiful lobby to the top of the line gym equipment and of course the pool and amazing suites. To top it off this hotel is a green hotel and it is obvious in our rooms with the double flush toilet, natural body wash, and the Seventh Generation dish wash.
The Lovely Ladies, Monica & Laura, and I headed out early this morning to Massachusetts for a girls night away filled with shopping, eating, relaxing and laughing.
What's girls weekend with out a few road snacks?
After a little unsuccessful shopping at the mall the girls and I went to Macaroni Grill for lunch.
Delicious Bread and Olive oil
yummmy pasta
Then it was time to check into our hotel.
Sorry this is short! Having too much fun! To Be Continued……….
Today was finally a day off from my regular job but meant it was time to put on my housekeeper hat. We are still in the process of organizing and unpacking due to our insane schedules. This morning called for a nice big mug of coffee so I got the french press out and made some yummy coffee.
Which I enjoyed with a breakfast burrito; I was feeling a little savory tonight.
After hours of sorting through boxes I finally made lunch which was inspire by tabbouli. My lunch consisted of parsley, cucumber, tomato, chickpeas, forbidden rice and a hemp balsamic dressing. It as amazing, period.
After lunch it was right back to work and I finally sorted through my growing collection of magazines removing any recipes, workouts or other articles that I plan to refer back to at a later date. I will put these in 3-ring binders specific to the category and when it was all said and done I ended up a pile of magazines to recycle.
All of the cleaning and organizing made me work up an appetite so I snacked on a Dr.Zevia and a Pumpkin-N-Spice trail mix bar. The Dr. Zevia was pretty good but not my favorite Zevia and the trail mix bar was a little sugary for my taste.
On to the next part of my “day off” a beautiful run right in my own “backyard”. Part of my Couch to 5K program, which I am on day 2 of week 2. I am loving it and it was the perfect day to run.
Well this weekend the ladies and I are headed out for a girls weekend and in honor of our girls weekend a girlie giveaway. I received a sample package of Annmarie organic and natural pure skin care products. I love the little sample set that I was sent but disappointed that some of the items include honey which in my vegan world, well, isn’t vegan. I gave away the samples that included honey and have tried most of the others.
My two favorite have been the neroli toning mist and the coconut body & facial oil. These make your skin so soft and it smells so good when you are putting it on; it is like you are having your own private facial/massage at home.
Annmaire also sent me an additional sample packet for one of you lucky readers to win. I know that there are a few non-vegan items in the package I am still doing the giveaway; if you are a no honey vegan then I suggest just giving the honey products to a friend to try.
To enter this giveaway please leave a comment telling me what your favorite thing to do is with your girlfriends or male-friends. Entries will be accepted until 5pm Sunday August 8th.
Winner: Angie Bishop
Today has been a wonderful day of good and healthy eats. Finally I had oatmeal for the first time in ….oh months! Even though it was a million degrees with 100% humidity today I just knew oatmeal was what I needed to start my day.
and of course I need a nice mug of coffee in my favorite mug from Hubz.
Curious to see what is in my oatmeal check it out:
My every bowl of oatmeal standards are the cinnamon, stevia, chia seeds and of course oatmeal and then I mix it up which different nut butters, fruit and sometimes I like to add shredded coconut and chocolate chips.
Lunch today was pretty wonderfully delicious and filled with organic produce from our CSA that we received this week. I had amazing heirloom tomatoes and cucumber with some local bread and spinach & artichoke hummus.
Dinner was sauteed cabbage, Tofurky kielbasa, roasted mushrooms and fresh sweet corn from our CSA.
After our trip to the laundromat because we are still without a washer and dryer the husband convinced me to have a little hemp ice cream which taste like cheesecake and is wonderful. I was good though and had just a little scoop. Hmmm…..now I think Jersey Shore is on the agenda.
This week has been hectic with planning and organizing for work but now everything is done and I can finally breathe. I was so exhausted last night I got home from work and passed out. Now I finally have my groove back and can get back to school, blogging & cooking.
After work today I had a snack before my Week 2 of C25K:
Cucumber, Mr. Krispers Salt & Pepper, Hummus & a little Zebra Tomato
Dinner tonight was simple:
Heirloom Tomato Salad with Balsamic Reduction
A not so pretty mix of brown rice, quinoa, spices, mushrooms and baby spinach.
oh and a slice of bread I forgot to photograph. I am relaxing for the remainder of the night and maybe doing some homework….hmm maybe not.
HI Bloggies!
The past few days have been crazy with work, yes even this weekend, and blogging has had to take a backseat. Things are now looking up and I should be back to regular blogging *fingers crossed*. Well even though I haven’t been blogging I have been documenting my eats and activities to share with you so lets rewind things to Thursday:
Pilates Fit Deck my new favorite workout besides C25K
Enjoying Penne in controlled portions by using my EatSmart Scale
Of course penne needs some fixings like kelp flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, a little EB and lots of kale!
Tomato, kale and lentil casserole with Mary's Gone Crackers Crumbs on top- these are so delicious
Oh and then fast forward to today! Finally a day of relaxation!
Cucumber, Celery and Crackers with Spinach-Artichoke Hummus
Cocktail Hour was Victory Tripel that the Hubz and I shared
Dinner of Eggplant Casserole with a bun since we are out of bread
Dessert: Vanilla Soygurt with a little sprinkle of granola
Okay so maybe it isn’t Starbucks but I have come to the realization that I can make my own lattes at home and save a ridiculous amount of money in doing so. Not only can I save money I can make a healthier latte at home since I can decide how much non-dairy milk I want as well as what kind I want to use.
Now you don’t need an expensive espresso machine to make your own espresso all you need is your favorite espresso blend or dark roast coffee and a stovetop espresso maker. I got mine at Winners (Canadian version of TJMaxx or Marshalls) for only $15 or you can get it directly from Bialetti (or if you wait until August 10th you can buy it in my OpenSky store) and it is so easy to use. You fill the base with water then place the insert in and fill with coffee; screw on the top and place it on your burner and when the top fills it’s ready! So easy right?
At this point you can make yourself an Americano, drink as espresso or create a hot/cold latte. I love to make lattes with mine and the best part I can add as much or as little non-dairy milk as I want and I can control the calories. I love to use unsweetened almond milk which only has 40 calories per cup. A tall soy latte at Starbucks is 130 calories versus the 30 calorie latte I can make at home- so why drink my calories and spend $4 on a latte when I can have it at home for $1 or less and only 30 calories? No Brainer!
Now if you want even better espresso and would like to spend a little bit more money you can get a Mypressi Twist which you can hear more about on Tina’s OpenSky.
